Dwight Howard was ejected on Wednesday night after a shove to the face of Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets. A flagrant 2 was called and the Lakers went on to lose 126-114 without Howard. Under the league's flagrant foul policy, Howard has four "points" and is not subject to automatic suspension. The flagrant foul has two levels; level 2 is an automatic ejection. This was Howard's third flagrant of the season after getting a level 1 on October 30 (Dallas Mavericks) and another on November 21 (Sacramento Kings)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers should be several million dollars poorer today. And some guy named Todd Sutton should be that much richer. All because Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun was suspended for 65 games Monday for multiple violations of baseball's drug policy. And because of a now-deleted bet between Rodgers and Sutton last year. Back in February 2012, Braun had a 50-game suspension for basically the same charges overturned, with an arbitration panel finding concerns with the way the player's urine samples were handled.

The one-game suspension of Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed has been reduced on appeal to a $50,000 fine, meaning he is eligible to play in Sunday's game at San Diego. Reed's penalty was reduced by Ted Cottrell, the hearing officer jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Assn. to hear and decide appeals for on-field player discipline. Reed was originally suspended for a helmet-to-helmet hit on defenseless Pittsburgh receiver Emmanuel Sanders on Sunday night, the safety's third such violation in three seasons.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday upheld the 15-game suspension of Boston Bruins forward Shawn Thornton that had been imposed by the league on Dec. 14. Bettman said he found “clear and convincing evidence” to support the ban, which was issued by NHL Senior Vice President Brendan Shanahan after Thornton slew-footed and punched Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik on Dec. 7. Orpik suffered a concussion and has not played since...

Ryan Braun's former high school baseball coach at Granada Hills, Steve Thompson, said Monday he was "disappointed he did do it," referring to Braun's acknowledgment he had violated Major League Baseball's basic agreement and its joint drug prevention and treatment program. Braun, who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, has been suspended for the rest of the season without pay. Thompson added, "Acknowledging he did something wrong is a good thing. He's hurt his image and now he's going to have to repair it. " Thompson supported Braun more than a year ago when the former National League MVP won an appeal over testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Miami's Richie Incognito remains suspended until an NFL investigation into his situation is completed, the Dolphins announced Monday. In November, the Dolphins suspended Incognito indefinitely after text and voice messages surfaced in which he used racially charged language to threaten fellow Miami offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, who had walked away from the team a week earlier. Incognito was suspended without pay for two weeks, then received pay for the next four weeks of his ban. The suspension ran its course in accordance to the collective bargaining agreement, and the Dolphins were facing a decision this week about whether to release him, reinstate him or work out a deal with him to remain suspended with pay. By not cutting Incognito loose, the playoff-minded Dolphins are ensured that the Pro Bowl guard won't be joining a contender for the postseason.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- In the no-surprise category ... Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal will be having a hearing Wednesday regarding his hit on the Kings' Dustin Brown in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series. Hanzal could be suspended for his actions, which resulted in a five-minute major for boarding and automatic game misconduct. The incident happened at 11:01 of the third period. Brown was shook up but did not miss any action. The Kings won Game 2, 4-0, and lead the series two games to none.

The suspension of point guard Andre Miller has been lifted by the Denver Nuggets, who said in a statement that he will return to the team on Monday. Miller, who was originally suspended for two games after getting into an on-court confrontation with Coach Brian Shaw on Wednesday, will not play in Denver's game against the Lakers on Sunday. The team released the following statement Friday: "The Denver Nuggets have rescinded the suspension of guard Andre Miller, general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Sean Payton has long considered himself a fan of the NFL. And for the time being, that's all he is. The suspended coach of the New Orleans Saints cannot have contact with the team or anyone in the league, and he must contact the NFL's security arm within 24 hours if he happens to cross paths with anyone on the off-limits list. Payton began serving his one-year suspension Monday for his role in the Saints' pay-for-performance bounty scandal. His appeal of the suspension was turned down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week.